Post by Booker T on Feb 1, 2008 12:39:52 GMT -5
Five score and 1 year ago (minus the five score), a great Australian, who made this site the way it is today, signed up to Extreme Wrestling Alliance. This momentous decree came as a great beacon light of hope to the millions thousands hundreds tens of Black EWA members who had been victims of great injustice in another rant.
One year later the blacks of this site are still not free. One year later the life of a black poster is sadly crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination. One year later, the black poster lives knowing that if they wanted to show their opinions on a EWA they would be ridiculed. So I am here today to dramatize a shameful condition.
In a sense I am here to in the Q&A section to cash a check. When the man wrote the Terms of Service on this site he was signing a promissory note to which every citizen of the Internet Wrestling Community (IWC) was to fall heir. This note was a promise that all men, yes, black men as well as white men, would be guaranteed the unalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. But to this day my rights as a poster, a poster that has got in for free, just like everyone else, are wrongfully taken away. Today people that read two or three sentences of this thread will call me an idiot, de-karma me and fill my inbox with racist messages or take this post seriously (as it should be).
Instead of honoring this sacred obligation, this forum, EWA and T-bone has given the black man a bad check, a check which has come back marked "insufficient funds", a check that has bounced. This is what I’ve heard my whole life and I’m tired of it. Today I have come to cash this check — a check that will give me upon demand the riches of freedom in posting and the security of justice. Now is the time to rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial justice. Now is the time to lift this forum from the quick sands of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood. Now is the time to make justice a reality for all of T-bone’s children.
Join me my fellow black brothers. Let us seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred. We must allow our creative protest to degenerate into physical violence. I cannot walk alone.
As we walk, we must make the pledge that we shall always march ahead. We cannot turn back. There are those who are asking the devotees of forum civil rights, "When will you be satisfied?" We can never be satisfied as long as the black man is the victim of the unspeakable horrors of Moderator brutality. We can never be satisfied as long as when I enter threads I see signs stating "For Whites Only".
I want my fellow black posters to be able to go back to the General Talk section, go back to the Suggestions, go back to Q&A, go back to the Insider section, go back to the Pay Per View, go back to the terrible thread known as The "Free Porn!!!" Thread (which has amassed more views than any other, yet everyone swears they didn't go in), knowing that somehow this situation can and will be changed. Let us not wallow in the valley of despair.
I say to you today, my fellow black posters, so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the Terms of Service.
I have a dream that one day this forum will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: "Posting cannot involve racism, sexism, or insults towards someone's sexuality.."
I have a dream that one day in the red hot section for The “Royal Rumble Elimination Thread” sons of former black posters and the sons of former oppressive moderators will be able to sit down together and have a civilized conversation.
I have a dream that one day even the General Talk section, a forum sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, with blacks only posting In the hippity hop threads and whites only posting in the Metal/Emo threads, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.
I have a dream that my four little children will one day be able to post on this forum and not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their posts.
I have a dream today.
I have a dream that one day, down in the Ring Roleplay section, with its vicious racists, with its Administrator (T-bone) having his lips dripping with the words of interposition and nullification; one day right there in that forum, little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as e-sisters and e-brothers.
I have a dream today.
I have a dream that one day, the Pay Per View section where T-bone refuses to allow anyone else to choose the PPV themes so that he can ensure that only the “white man’s music” can be heard will be replaced by an even balance of musical genres.
I have a dream today.
This is my hope. This is the faith that I can go back to "The Block" with. With this faith we will be able to hew out of this site of despair a stone of hope. With this faith we will be able to transform the jangling hate posts of our “Story Time” thread into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood. With this faith we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to get banned together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day.
This will be the day when all of T-bone either dies or steps down as Administrator. Only then will be able to sing with a new meaning, "My EWA, 'tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing. Land where my free time was spent, land where my adolescence went, from every topic posted, let freedom ring."
And if this site is to be a great place to post this must become true. So let freedom ring from the spam posts in our RP contracts of “Updated”. Let freedom ring from the hateful PM’s I get daily. Let freedom ring from the growing “Samples, Ratings and Whatnot” section.
Let freedom ring from the dying This or That thread!
Let freedom ring from the dead Wordsnake thread!
Let freedom ring from the once sacred Discussion Board! Let freedom ring from every EWA T-shirt I create free of charge!
But not only that; let freedom ring from the constant petty complaints about matches you won’t even do in the Tenacious Conflict, Ravaged Impact and Collective Mayhem sections.
Let freedom ring from every backstage RP that no one cares about! Let freedom ring from every serious thread which is hijacked and turned into a casual conversation!
Let freedom ring from every “thx” post made in the “PPV/Match Request” thread. From every “Superstar Bio” post that nobody will ever see.
Let freedom ring from every sordid and repugnant remark made by Zel in the shoutbox! Let freedom ring from every massive post which not even T-bone will read made by The Rock! Let freedom ring from every spelling error made by Ricky Jones! Let freedom ring every time JGH is made fun of in an RP! Let freedom ring from every fantastical tale told by Virus! Let freedom ring every time Butters is called Butters! Let freedom ring from every post HBB doesn’t do due to him having a life!
Let freedom ring from every individual colour which can only be used by a certain member in the shoutbox.
And when this happens, (when T-bone is gone) and when we allow freedom to ring, when we let it ring from every post to every topic, from every private message to every public post, we will be able to speed up that day when all of T-bone's children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, DWF jobbers and EWA jobbers, will be able to join e-hands and sing in the words of the old black poster known as The ShowStopper/King Bookah/Booker T, "I hate white people!"
One year later the blacks of this site are still not free. One year later the life of a black poster is sadly crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination. One year later, the black poster lives knowing that if they wanted to show their opinions on a EWA they would be ridiculed. So I am here today to dramatize a shameful condition.
In a sense I am here to in the Q&A section to cash a check. When the man wrote the Terms of Service on this site he was signing a promissory note to which every citizen of the Internet Wrestling Community (IWC) was to fall heir. This note was a promise that all men, yes, black men as well as white men, would be guaranteed the unalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. But to this day my rights as a poster, a poster that has got in for free, just like everyone else, are wrongfully taken away. Today people that read two or three sentences of this thread will call me an idiot, de-karma me and fill my inbox with racist messages or take this post seriously (as it should be).
Instead of honoring this sacred obligation, this forum, EWA and T-bone has given the black man a bad check, a check which has come back marked "insufficient funds", a check that has bounced. This is what I’ve heard my whole life and I’m tired of it. Today I have come to cash this check — a check that will give me upon demand the riches of freedom in posting and the security of justice. Now is the time to rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial justice. Now is the time to lift this forum from the quick sands of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood. Now is the time to make justice a reality for all of T-bone’s children.
Join me my fellow black brothers. Let us seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred. We must allow our creative protest to degenerate into physical violence. I cannot walk alone.
As we walk, we must make the pledge that we shall always march ahead. We cannot turn back. There are those who are asking the devotees of forum civil rights, "When will you be satisfied?" We can never be satisfied as long as the black man is the victim of the unspeakable horrors of Moderator brutality. We can never be satisfied as long as when I enter threads I see signs stating "For Whites Only".
I want my fellow black posters to be able to go back to the General Talk section, go back to the Suggestions, go back to Q&A, go back to the Insider section, go back to the Pay Per View, go back to the terrible thread known as The "Free Porn!!!" Thread (which has amassed more views than any other, yet everyone swears they didn't go in), knowing that somehow this situation can and will be changed. Let us not wallow in the valley of despair.
I say to you today, my fellow black posters, so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the Terms of Service.
I have a dream that one day this forum will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: "Posting cannot involve racism, sexism, or insults towards someone's sexuality.."
I have a dream that one day in the red hot section for The “Royal Rumble Elimination Thread” sons of former black posters and the sons of former oppressive moderators will be able to sit down together and have a civilized conversation.
I have a dream that one day even the General Talk section, a forum sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, with blacks only posting In the hippity hop threads and whites only posting in the Metal/Emo threads, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.
I have a dream that my four little children will one day be able to post on this forum and not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their posts.
I have a dream today.
I have a dream that one day, down in the Ring Roleplay section, with its vicious racists, with its Administrator (T-bone) having his lips dripping with the words of interposition and nullification; one day right there in that forum, little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as e-sisters and e-brothers.
I have a dream today.
I have a dream that one day, the Pay Per View section where T-bone refuses to allow anyone else to choose the PPV themes so that he can ensure that only the “white man’s music” can be heard will be replaced by an even balance of musical genres.
I have a dream today.
This is my hope. This is the faith that I can go back to "The Block" with. With this faith we will be able to hew out of this site of despair a stone of hope. With this faith we will be able to transform the jangling hate posts of our “Story Time” thread into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood. With this faith we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to get banned together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day.
This will be the day when all of T-bone either dies or steps down as Administrator. Only then will be able to sing with a new meaning, "My EWA, 'tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing. Land where my free time was spent, land where my adolescence went, from every topic posted, let freedom ring."
And if this site is to be a great place to post this must become true. So let freedom ring from the spam posts in our RP contracts of “Updated”. Let freedom ring from the hateful PM’s I get daily. Let freedom ring from the growing “Samples, Ratings and Whatnot” section.
Let freedom ring from the dying This or That thread!
Let freedom ring from the dead Wordsnake thread!
Let freedom ring from the once sacred Discussion Board! Let freedom ring from every EWA T-shirt I create free of charge!
But not only that; let freedom ring from the constant petty complaints about matches you won’t even do in the Tenacious Conflict, Ravaged Impact and Collective Mayhem sections.
Let freedom ring from every backstage RP that no one cares about! Let freedom ring from every serious thread which is hijacked and turned into a casual conversation!
Let freedom ring from every “thx” post made in the “PPV/Match Request” thread. From every “Superstar Bio” post that nobody will ever see.
Let freedom ring from every sordid and repugnant remark made by Zel in the shoutbox! Let freedom ring from every massive post which not even T-bone will read made by The Rock! Let freedom ring from every spelling error made by Ricky Jones! Let freedom ring every time JGH is made fun of in an RP! Let freedom ring from every fantastical tale told by Virus! Let freedom ring every time Butters is called Butters! Let freedom ring from every post HBB doesn’t do due to him having a life!
Let freedom ring from every individual colour which can only be used by a certain member in the shoutbox.
And when this happens, (when T-bone is gone) and when we allow freedom to ring, when we let it ring from every post to every topic, from every private message to every public post, we will be able to speed up that day when all of T-bone's children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, DWF jobbers and EWA jobbers, will be able to join e-hands and sing in the words of the old black poster known as The ShowStopper/King Bookah/Booker T, "I hate white people!"